***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for K: Missing Kings. Reader discretion is advised.***
Film Synopsis
A year has passed since the Battle of Ashinaka High School and the death of the Red King. To this day, the whereabouts of the Silver King, Yashiro Isana (voiced by Daisuke Namikawa), remain a mystery.
In their effort to locate their leader, Kuroh Yatogami (voiced by Daisuke Ono) and Neko (voiced by Mikako Komatsu) have made little progress. Though disheartened, they believe they'll one day find Yashiro.
All the while, others have been preparing for battle.
Without warning, the Green Clan attacks. They hope to increase their power and influence. And to do so, they seek to eliminate their biggest threats. Which includes the missing Silver King.
To stop the Greens and hopefully find their friend, Kuroh and Shiro join forces with the now disbanded Red Clan, HOMRA. They also enlist the aid of the powerful Blue Clan, SCEPTER 4.
A major conflict now appears imminent. How things will play out is anyone's guess. Yet, a clan without their King is as good as lost.
Film Positives
K’s an anime worth checking out. The first season was great. And season two was a strong follow up.
If you read my K: Return of Kings review, I mentioned I didn’t remember much of the first season. Since writing that, I've refreshed myself. Go ahead and consider me a fan of this series.
With that, you’d think I would’ve been all over Missing Kings. Part of that's true. I’ve had this one queued up for a while. In fact, it was that way the moment I reviewed the first season. Which was over two years ago at this point.
Yet instead of watching this movie, I waited a year and got to Return of Kings first. Knowing full well that Missing Kings was a bridge between one and two.
Though I enjoy this series, Missing Kings never got me that excited to watch. I mean I wanted to. But there were always better things I could’ve been doing.
I couldn’t see this as K for the big screen. It was only the gap between two larger stories. This wasn’t something like the Cowboy Bebop movie. With Bebop, you couldn’t help but wonder, what were they going to do? What would they come up with for a project that should be bigger and grander?
Something similar happened with the Madoka Magica films. Beginnings and Eternal were just recaps of a story I already knew. I wasn't too keen on doing that. But Rebellion was an original, after-series story. That was exciting.
So, that’s the reason why it’s taken me so long to get to this one. The verdict?.
Missing Kings had to prove its worth. This was the connection between the seasons after all. Was there a point? Did it set up season two well enough? I’ll be honest, Missing Kings was starting with a disadvantage.
I watched season two without this film. I got through it fine. Never once did I feel lost. What does that tell me?
I enjoyed Missing Kings well enough. But no, I don’t see what the point was. As part of the franchise, this was the weakest.
I'm not saying it was bad. There were good things in Missing Kings. And by good, I mean great.
The Visuals
K has always been a stunning series. It’s easy to lose yourself. The visuals alone are worth a recommendation. For the franchise as a whole, mind you. Let alone this film.
Speaking of which, try imagining K with film budget. Pretty great, isn’t it? Of all the things Missing Kings needed to ramp up, this was one of the biggest. And you can see the effort made in the opening seconds.
Missing Kings was absolutely gorgeous.
K has never been a heavy series and Missing Kings was no different. And though both film and anime had their fair share of silly moments, neither were by no means a comedy.
Yet Missing Kings was serious enough to where other productions may have leaned more towards reservation. The artwork might remain fine, even spectacular. But perhaps a little diluted to portray a larger sense of grit. That wasn’t the case here.
Missing Kings was full of bright, vivid colors. The action was fast. Movements were swift. Everything was well lit. There were no shadows. You could see it all.
As a for what the film was meant to do, I was indifferent. There wasn’t anything that got me excited to watch. With the exception of one. One which was all visual based.
The birth of a new King.
Awakening
On the off chance, you haven’t seen the second season or read my review of it, I’ll try to be as vague as possible. But I do want to talk about this since it was the best part of the movie.
In my Return of Kings review, I mentioned what I believed would be covered in Missing Kings. Knowing the result of this development, as seen in season two, I couldn’t wait to see the catalyst.
HOMRA was going to get a new King.
The biggest reason why I like this series is the personal relationships of the clans. They were loyal to each other. They looked out for one another. If someone messed with one they have messed with all. I’ve always connected to that level of comradery.
This wasn’t the kind of loyalty money could buy. It wasn’t something fueled by power. Weather Red, Blue, or Silver, the feelings were the same. They were family. And though the Kings were heads of these families, they were still very much amongst them.
When HOMRA lost their King, it shook them to their core. They were lost. Each one took it hard. To replace someone of that caliber doesn’t happen overnight. And it wasn’t the kind of position you fight for. It was an honor which needed to be given.
The passing of the Red torch can be split into two phases. Both of them well done. And both were what I was hoping to see from this film.
The first phase was the successor getting the chance to confront such the sudden parting. They let out their anger. Their sadness. Their frustration. As well as their heart and love. In this moment, they never once asked for the kingship. They instead took this opportunity to say goodbye. And yeah, it hit right where it counted.
The second phase was pure badass. The successor took up the mantel. They became the new leader of HOMRA. With that, they demonstrated the power of a King. If you thought this movie was pretty before...well.
This was what Missing Kings could claim as its own.
Film Negatives
How do I say this?
Missing Kings wasn’t in the best of positions. Odds were, whatever it ended up doing, it wasn’t going to cut it. Think about it this way.
As a sequel to the first season, Missing Kings didn’t add anything. I’m including in this HOMRA’s new King.
While this was great and the highlight of the movie, that word “highlight” is the problem. Why wasn’t this the sole focus of the movie? And if it was, oh wow, you could’ve fooled me.
Though the Silver Clan were the leading force in the anime, they had no reason to be in this film. Shiro wasn’t part of this story. Nor should he have been. Kuro and Neko I like as characters, but they needed something to do. What they did here didn’t go anywhere.
Why didn’t it go anywhere? That’s because season two would go on to that.
Return of Kings, not Missing Kings, is the true follow-up to season one. The villains of this film, the Greens, were the villains of season two. I’m not sure what they were trying to do in this movie. Their plan in season two made a lot more sense. Thus, it was easier to get invested in the story.
Plus, when Kuro went up against the Greens, he lost. Then again, why wouldn’t he lose? He would go on, again, to have a much more meaningful showdown in Return of Kings.
Tell me, why I should I've expected him to be victorious here? Or for that matter, put up a good fight?
Odyssey, isn’t this all unfair? You watched these stories out of order. Of course, you wouldn’t be expecting something if you knew the outcome. How is this the movie's fault?
That’s a valid point. But the alternative is even worse.
Suppose someone did watch K in order. That way, when they got to Missing Kings there would be no preconceptions. You know what they would get instead? Disappointment.
The climax to this film wasn’t the rise of the new Red King. Because again, that wasn’t the point of the movie. This was a bridge. Something to connect the two seasons. Which okay, yeah, it did that?
Mission accomplished, right?
No. Season two bridged the two seasons way better. I had no problem getting through Return of Kings. All the more important bits of the film you could infer.
Missing Kings seemed to be nothing more than a huge missed opportunity.
Final Thoughts
Fans of K will get a kick out of this movie. But does anybody need to watch it? No.
That is if you’re looking for a story. There wasn’t much of one here. And anything that did come out of it will only hit you if you’ve seen the first season. By that point, you’d know if this was the type of movie you’d want to see.
If you’re looking for a little eye candy, then yes, give this one a chance. This was K on a budget after all.
In the end, do I recommend K: Missing Kings? I enjoyed it for what it was. It didn’t do anything that the anime didn’t already do better. But if you’ve got the time and the background, then sure. This is one worth checking out.
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